Stocks Currently Making New 52 Week Highs

I realize sometimes that this blog can be a constant dose of bad news.

Trust me - I can't wait until I can start writing about happier times, but they just aren't here yet. Things are bleak, and it's hard to try and manufacture cheery articles in this current economic climate.

That being said, I thought that it would be interesting to go through and find companies that are actually doing really well in this current market environment.

Some of the biggest and most revered companies in the world are getting absolutely clobbered in this recession / depression. Citigroup, General Motors and General Electric, to name just a few, are just slivers of their once-proud selves.

The major market indexes continue to crash on a near-daily basis, and we are currently testing lows that we haven't seen since 1997.

You might be asking - are there actually companies that are touching 52 week highs in this horrid environment?

Here are four companies that are actually doing really well, and the reasons why:

AZO (Autozone) - currently trading at $143.43 after touching a 52 week high of $146.95 last week. AZO is up approximately $30 in the past year.

Autozone sells replacement car parts and accessories, and caters to people who are trying to fix their vehicles themselves.

The reason for their countertrend ascent is easy enough to see - people are foregoing new vehicle purchases, and are instead looking to hang on to their current vehicles. This means that the market for replacement car parts is a very hot one.

Autozone is doing very, very well in this difficult economic climate.

ORLY (O'Reilly Automotive) - currently trading at $32.05, after touching a 52 week high of $33.25 last week.

O'Reilly Automotive is another automotive parts retailer that is doing well due to the fact that the average person is fixing up their current vehicle instead of purchasing a new one.

O'Reilly posted very strong Q4 earnings last week, soundly beating analyst estimates. The stock jumped, and the company is looking to maintain their momentum in 2009. I really doubt that people are suddenly going to start purchasing new vehicles in this current climate, so automotive parts retailers should continue to do well.

CECO (Career Education Corporation) - currently trading at $24.95, which is a 52 week high for the company.

CECO posted very strong earnings last week - the company posted Q4 earnings of 35 cents per share, blowing away analyst estimates of 20 cents per share. Shares of the company predictably soared on this news.

Many people are finding themselves out of work due to the weak economy, and are looking to improve their resumes or move into a completely new field.

CECO is the direct beneficiary of this, and will continue to do exceptionally well as unemployment numbers steadily increase.

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There are some other companies out there that are currently hitting 52 week highs, however I tried to focus on companies with market caps of $1 billion dollars plus, as well as companies that you may have heard of.

The good news - there are, in fact, companies that are doing well and prospering in this environment.